The Mirage of the Other Half

In Plato’s Symposium, the playwright Aristophanes recounts an ancient myth about the origin of humanity. According to this legend, humans in the distant past were entirely different from what they are today. In the beginning, humans had powerful, spherical bodies with two heads facing opposite directions. They possessed four arms, four legs and dual reproductive organs. The human race was not divided into male and female; rather, each individual was a complete blend of both.

These early humans possessed immense power, which led them to arrogance and hubris. They scorned the gods and challenged their authority. Their behavior angered Zeus, the chief diety in Greek mythology. In response to their unchecked pride, Zeus decided to punish them. He split them into halves—one male and one female—condemning them to spend their lives searching for their lost half, never to find it.

Through this myth, we can understand the innate human need to seek out the “other half” an attempt to reclaim the original wholeness we lost. However, this search is often fraught with challenges and disappointments. How many have thought they found their other half, only to discover later that it was merely a fleeting illusion?

In the context of human relationships, the quest for the ideal “other half” may be a pursuit of a mirage. The idea of the missing half, though appealing, assumes the existence of an external perfection that completes us—an assumption that can lead to repeated frustrations. Instead, perhaps we should view relationships as mirrors reflecting what we long to see in ourselves.?

Wisdom may lie in realizing that what we seek in the other is, in truth, a reflection of what we wish to see in ourselves. With this understanding, the journey to find a partner transforms into a journey of self-discovery, where we find in the other not a missing half, but a mirror to our latent potential and an opportunity for mutual growth and personal development.

Ultimately, the pursuit of inner completeness and self-acceptance may be key to healthier and more profound relationships, rather than an idealized notion of completion through another person. This perspective encourages personal growth, mutual understanding, and the cultivation of more realistic expectations in our romantic pursuits.

? 2024 A. Fayez Jammal